Commercial Ink - Television Ads and DVR

Television Ads and DVR

Many people thought the the digital video recorder (DVR) would be the death of advertising on television. But, this is simply not the case. It merely proposes an obstacle that can be overcome. But how? How can you reach your target audience, when they are fast forwarding through your television ads? In order to do this, you just have to rethink your message, and how to send it. Remember, viewers are still seeing the commercial, they are just seeing it at an accelerated speed. In a study done by Boston College Researchers, it was discovered that viewers may actually pay more attention to the commercials when fast forwarding, and were more easily influenced by brand images after only viewing it for a fraction of a second. Two professors at Boston College, Adam Brasel and James Gips, found that commercials could still be effective if brand information, like your company logo, is placed in the center of the screen despite the 95% reduction in frame and lack of audio. Brand information placed outside the center is of little or no value.

The key here is to make sure your commercial is heavily branded and that it is positioned correctly. This is a way for marketers to still get their message across, even when the DVR is in fast forward mode. Viewers actually may even pay more attention to the screen when trying to skip commercials than they would when watching real time TV. Consumers do not like long, boring commercials, and marketers underestimate the power of a simple, concise, and to the point ad. Technology is constantly improving and is more dynamic then ever. It is up to the marketers to adapt television advertising to the "DVR Age". DVR is here to stay and is only becoming more widely used, so be creative and flexible, and your television commercials can still catch the attention of an impatient viewer.

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